Three thousand feet above the Zambian bush, the DHC2 Beaver had only ten minutes' fuel remaining. Night was drawing in; ground features were indiscernible. I could not raise anyone on the radio. Would this be the end? John Flexman knew he wanted to be a pilot from moment he saw an RAF flypast as a boy of eight. At sixteen he joined the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, getting his 'wings' in 1961 at the age of 18. From there on he never looked back. His flying career took him around the wor...

This book puts the reader in the pilot's seat for a "day at the office" unlike any other. The Smell of Kerosene tells the dramatic story of a NASA research pilot who logged over 11,000 flight hours in more than 125 types of aircraft. Donald Mallick gives the reader fascinating first-hand description of his early naval flight training, carrier operations, and his research flying career with NASA. After transferring to the NASA Flight Research Center, Mallick became involved with projects th...

Naval Aviator Brad Morehouse finds himself relegated to the flight engineer seat of a commercial 727 following a tragic accident during the Blue Angel’s triumphant homecoming in 1983. From the lowest notch on the totem pole he watches the downward spiral of Omega Airlines as one crew blunder after another threatens to force the once proud captains’ airlines into extinction. Accidents were a growing concern in the airlines during those years. In 1978 a United Airlines DC-8 crashed in Portla...

Readers of Flying the Alaska Wild marveled at Mort Mason's true tales of braving the elements at the extremes in a Piper Super Cub. But the bush pilot, adventurer, and raconteur was just beginning, and in this book he revisits his most memorable moments of flying by the seat of his pants through blizzards and white-outs, on assignments at times hazardous and sometimes simply whacky, always with a sense of humor and due respect for the limitless wilds of Alaska beneath his wings. The world ...

Air travel is an almost essential part of everyday life. A significant proportion of travelers are curious about what is actually happening on the flight deck. This book, based on forty years of personal experiences, takes the reader into the cockpit.Written in a humorous style, it relates incidents, accidents and some romantic attachments. The narrative includes the transport of a complete circus, a period spent flying for an African mining company, a brush with Nigerian authoriti...

An "interesting and highly informative personal memoir . . . a much-needed addition to the body of work covering the air war over the Falklands."— IPMS/USADuring the Falklands War, Jerry Pook, a pilot in No. 1(F) Squadron RAF, flew air interdiction, armed reccon, close-air-support and airfield attack as well as pure photo-reccon missions. Most weapons were delivered from extreme low-level attacks because of the lack of navigation aids and in the absence of...

"In 1963…there was no way I could have known, sitting in a classroom on that beautiful campus in Ohio, that by raising my hand I would be going to war in Vietnam and that I would see things, hear things and do things that most people cannot imagine."--James Joyce. The author was drawn into the United States Army through ROTC, and went through training to fly helicopters in combat over Vietnam. His experiences are notable because he flew both Huey "Slicks" and Huey "Gunships": the former on...

The Other Vietnam War is a powerful autobiographical account of service in Vietnam and the enduring, often invisible conflict that follows it home. Moving beyond battlefield action and historical summary, this memoir explores the private war carried within-one shaped by memory, moral conflict, and the lasting psychological impact of combat.Drawing on firsthand experience, the author recounts life during the Vietnam War with clarity and restraint, capturing both the immedia...

DANGEROUS LESSONS AND GUARDIAN ANGELS is an action packed true adventure book that spans thirty-five years of airline flying. Stories about transporting guns to Biafra, flying cargo up and down the Berlin corridor during the cold war, and flying sensitive missions, deep into Russia.Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for exciting,sometimes funny,and ocassionally death defying true aviation stories. Many of the stories in this book will put you on the edge-of-your seat; for example when the ...

North America's vast land mass, sparse population, and deserted north were perfectly suited for aircraft operations on skis and pontoons. The bush pilots opened the North, exploring to its farthest reaches, establishing communication between isolated settlements, delivering supplies, medicines, medical assistance and the mail. They were superb pilots and mechanics, dare devils, barnstormers, inventors, and explorers. Operating without compasses, radios, or detailed maps, they built their a...

Emergency is a collection of true stories about events where disaster seems imminent. Yet each situation is concluded without loss of life thanks to the skill of the pilots and their crews, whose bravery and resourcefulness have earned them well-deserved commendations. Written by a British Airways First Officer, Stanley Stewart, who has spoken at first hand with the pilots and crews involved in all the incidents recorded here, the book offers a unique insight into what really happened: not...

The Rogue Aviator: In the Back Alleys of Aviation is a memoir of an adventurous and fun-loving pilot who experienced a unique and tumultuous career. An additional theme of this book is an insider's view of the commercial aviation industry and the degradation of safety that results when concern for the company's bottom line trumps the concern for the safety of the aviation operation. The current front-and-center issue of pilot fatigue frequently enters the narrative with many personal anecd...